Performance Management Cycle

 

The performance management cycle is an annually re-occurring conduct in which employees are evaluated throughout the year (Russell and Russell, 2009) 

According to the AIHR Academy guide lines (2004), All employees go through this cycle, starting with goal-setting at the beginning of the year, followed by the monitoring of their progress, helping them develop to do better, and ending with a formal evaluation afterward. The goal of this cycle is to develop and execute employee performance plans. These plans help in focusing employee efforts on achieving organizational goals which, in turn, helps to align employee priorities with the goals of the organization

According to the Russell and Russell (2009), Performance management involves much more than just assigning ratings and It is a continuous cycle that involves below five stages.

Planning : work in advance so that expectations and goals can be set

Monitoring: progress and performance continually;

Developing : the employee's ability to perform through training and work assignments;

Rating : periodically to summarize performance and,

Rewarding : good performance.

                                         Source: AIHR Academy article

Planning

According to the Russell and Russell (2009), "Planning" means setting performance expectations and goals for groups and individuals to channel their efforts toward achieving organizational objectives. It also includes the measures that will be used to determine whether expectations and goals are being met. Involving employees in the planning process helps them understand the goals of the organization, what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and how well it should be done.

Monitoring

"Monitoring" means consistently measuring performance and providing ongoing feedback to employees and work groups on their progress toward reaching their goals. (Russell and Russell, 2009)  Ongoing monitoring provides the opportunity to check how employees are doing and to identify and resolve any problems early. (Russell and Russell, 2009) 

Developing

According to the Russell and Russell, (2009), "Developing" means increasing the capacity to perform through training, giving assignments that introduce new skills or higher level of responsibility, improving work processes, or other methods. Development efforts can encourage and strengthen good performance and help employees keep up with changes in the workplace.

Rating

According to the Russell and Russell, (2009), "Rating" means evaluating employee or group performance against the elements and standards in an employee's performance plan, summarizing that performance, and assigning a rating of record.

Rewarding

According to the Russell and Russell, (2009), "Rewarding" means providing incentives to and recognition of employees, individually and as members of groups, for their performance and acknowledging their contributions to the agency's mission. There are many ways to acknowledge good performance, from a sincere "Thank You!" for a specific job well done to granting the highest level appreciation.

References

Armstrong, M. and Baron, A., 2005. Managing Performance. 1st ed. London: CIPD.

Aguinis, H., 2019. Performance Management. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Pearson.

Bhattacharyya, D., 2011. Performance Management Systems and Strategies. 1st ed. India: Pearson.

Hansen, A. (2021). The purposes of performance management systems and processes: a cross-functional typology. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print)

Russell, J. and Russell, L., 2009. Ultimate Performance Management: Training to Transform Performance Reviews into Performance Partnerships. 1st ed. USA: ASTD Press.